22 November 2013

Still, it's only a partial victory over obstruction, since legislation can still be filibustered. This may not seem like much of a problem now, with a divided Congress, but if Democrats take back the House majority next November, as it seems eminently possible they could, every bill they want to pass will likely face a filibuster. Employment Non-discrimination Act -- emergency social security expansion to keep a third of the country from starving to death -- defunding the Afghanistan war* -- it doesn't matter how well these things poll, Senate Republicans will block them with any powers they still have.

*Though the establishments of both major parties have embraced the idea of infinite war in Afghanistan, remember that the Congressional Progressive Caucus (69 voting members) hasn't.